Puppy
by dreamer.at.heart
Summary: In which Temari is her scheming self, a puppy gets kidnapped from above, and Gaara learns to appreciate mistletoe. GaaHina holiday fluff.


I wrote this in the car, which explains why it's so crappy. I have a stomach ache and I don't write well with motion sickness. I'm on my way to Florida to Universal Studios and Harry Potter World. :D

Just something I did since it was Christmas and it needed to happen.

100 Themes Challenge #96: Puppy

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"This is a bad idea." Gaara repeats for the third time.

And for the third time, his older sister scoffs and whaps him upside the head as she is prone to do when her brothers refuse to listen. "This is a great idea! You've been crushing on her for six months, Gaara. If you don't make a move soon, someone else will. I guarantee it."

Something inside him wants to start destroying things at the thought of another man with his hands all over the pearl-eyed beauty his thoughts revolve around. But he smothers the bloodlust and instead focuses on the box in Temari's hands. It's wrapped in shiny, crinkly paper the color of a desert sunset during the winter and there's a bow, too, made by someone definitely not his sister and a shade of cactus green. They don't do holly red and mistletoe green in Suna.

"And….you believe this will make her like me?" His brow furrows in confusion. He seriously doesn't understand girls and Hinata is especially confusing. She hasn't responded to any of his efforts up to this point and he's ready to pull his hair out. But that would piss Temari off, as she's spent the last half hour trying to tame his wild red locks into something that passes off for formal.

There's a holiday festival tonight that he's actually supposed to be at right now, as he is the host even if he had absolutely nothing to do with the planning. That's Temari's gig, though apparently even the object of his fantasy's had a part in it.

He's wearing a scandalously loose yukata that matches the exact shade of his hair. The top hangs open a tad (hence the scandalous label) and exposes the paleness of his chest. Temari says it makes him look hot, but the breeze that comes in through an open window makes him shiver. Plus, it makes him look like the Uchiha and as a result a gender confused porn star.

"So when you give this to her, make sure you're standing on the balcony, ok?" Temari continues, looking in the mirror while she paints on another layer of crimson lipstick. Gaara suspects that the other Konoha shinobi in attendance will have lip shaped stains on his face before the night is over. He looks forward to beating the shit out of the pineapple-haired man. It will take his mind off of the confusion that is the female race.

Temari glances at him from the corner of her eyes and she sighs exasperatedly. "What are you waiting for? Get going!"

So he leaves the safety of his sister's bedroom, the box tucked under his arm, and he shunshins to the center of the village where he's supposed to meet Kankuro.

When the sand settles (and falls into his yukata, which he doesn't mind. It's not itchy to him, though the nearest bystanders are casually brushing grains of sand off their own festive robes) he thinks that Temari has outdone herself this time. Moon-white paper lanterns are strung between buildings and they light up the whole village. He watches people mill about, exchanging wishes for happy holidays and a Merry Christmas. It's really quite a spectacle, he thinks. Especially considering that a year ago, they were at war. It's a pleasant and welcome change.

"Gaara-sama?"

Shit.

He's not ready for this, Temari was wrong. But he turns and puts on what he thinks is a brave front (in reality he just looks constipated, but Hinata's much too kind to say so) and the "Merry Christmas" has just left his mouth when his jaw nearly drops open.

Her yukata is snow-white and her skin about the same color, except for her cheeks which are an enticing pink. She's left her hair down and he realizes how long it's gotten. It brushes against the small of her back, except for several strands that frame her heart shaped face. She tucks one of those strands behind her ear (he didn't know her ears were pierced, but tonight she has little silver moons dangling from her ears) and bites her lips. He tries not to stare too hard at her lips, but they're so damn plump and so damn pink that's its almost not worth even trying.

"Merry Christmas, Gaara-sama." She says shyly, looking up at him through the fringe of her bangs. He wants to say her eyes are glowing just for him, but he knows it's just probably the moon and the mood and Christmas or something like that.

Then he notices the thin box in her outstretched hands and he almost chokes on his own spit.

_She_ has a present for him.

She has a present for _him_.

Then he remembers Temari's instructions and he grabs her by the arm and pulls her behind him. She lets out a little squeal and stumbles against his back. "Ah, where are we going, Gaara-sama?"

"Temari told me to give you your gift on the balcony." He states. She giggles beside him and it's quite possibly the sweetest sound he's ever heard. It doesn't sound like bells or angels sighing or any of that nonsense. It sounds like happiness and she even snorts a little, which he thinks is the cutest thing ever until he sees her blush again.

The air on the balcony is a little clearer and he can think a little clearer too. He realizes then that he probably should've found a better way to get her up here.

He _hates_ this complicated subtly stuff.

"Y-you have a gift for me?" She stutters a bit and though it's adorable, he's a bit confused because she hasn't stuttered around him for a couple months. "You d-didn't need to-"

"I wanted too." He murmurs, interrupting her mid-sentence. It's probably kind of rude but he wants to make it clear that everything he does for her he does because he wants to. It's the first time he's ever wanted to do nice things for anyone but Temari, Kankuro, or Naruto.

"O-oh." She bows her head and there's that alluring blush again. "A-ano, I have t-this for you, too."

She hands him the thin rectangle at the same time he passes her his square box. Her's is wrapped in silver with little snowflakes on it and an intricate blue bow that he knows she did herself. She's much better at this kind of thing than Temari is, though if his sister knew he thought that he'd probably get smacked, Kazekage or not.

"O-oh_, Gaara_!" She exclaims and he jerks his head up in shock. She didn't add the sama suffix (which he's asked her to do several times, but she always protested it wasn't right) and she's beaming at him, flashing little perfect white teeth.

The box is abandoned on the floor of the balcony and she's rubbing cheeks with the puppy in her arms. It has a big, Konoha-Christmas red bow wrapped around its neck and she looks so happy he almost forgets to tell her it's name.

"His name is Ko," He says after clearing his throat. He knows she has a cousin that shares the same name and he thinks it's that fact that makes her burst out laughing.

"Ko? It's perfect!" The puppy appears to share her sentiments because his tail starts wagging and he barks, making them both laugh.

He doesn't notice he's smiling at her until she says something. "You l-look pretty when you smile, Gaara." She giggles again and that just makes him smile wider.

She thinks he's _pretty_. Take _that_, Kankuro!

Then she looks nervous again. He can tell because she's shifting her weight from side to side, which looks painful in the sandals her tiny feet are shoved into. "A-are you going to open it?"

So she's nervous over that? Gaara carefully unties the bow-it smells like vanilla and he thinks he's going to keep it just so he can smell her-and he lays it aside before tearing off the wrapping paper. And then-

Then he's speechless.

When he had felt the edges of the gift he thought that maybe it was a book, or something along those lines.

But it's not.

It's a picture in a gilded frame. It's not a photo; its hand painted in every color of the Suna rainbow. And it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

"A-ah, Temari took t-the picture, she gave me s-some others if you want them, a-and I j-just painted it. Sai gave me l-lessons before I came h-here, ano, if you d-don't like it I can-"

"I love it." He interrupts her for the second time that night, but this time he doesn't care if it's a little rude.

He recognizes the moment now. Hinata had been teaching him how to heal his own minor wounds-he had never needed to know how until the Shukaku was gone. They had been training for more than a few hours and both of them had been wiped out. And as such, they had both fallen asleep.

Temari had captured them at the perfect moment-Gaara was resting against a training post, and Hinata had her head on his shoulder. But Hinata…Hinata had brought it to a whole new level. She had paid attention to detail, particularly in color-he had never noticed it before, but he actually was quite pretty for a man. She had caught the pale pink of his eyelids, the reddish tint to his lips, the elegancy of the black circles surrounding his eyes. And she hadn't neglected her own painting-self-each dark eyelash was defined, each stray hair was distinct, each fiber of her jacket was an individual shade of lavender.

"O-oh! I'm so glad!" Suddenly her cheeks match the rouge of her painting-self's cheeks, and he fightd the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

But his thoughts are suddenly and rudely interrupted when something whacks the backside of his head. "What the-" He reaches back and when he brings his hand around, it's holding a plant he's very familiar with.

"Mistletoe?" Why the hell was there-_Temari._

Both he and Hinata simultaneously glance up in time to see a shadowy form disappear over the edge of the roof.

"Temari," He mutters. "Sorry, she's-"

But suddenly something touches his lips and it's not the mistletoe swinging from the thread up above. It tastes like vanilla and cinnamon sugar and god he wants more. And that's when it hits him-

Hinata is kissing him.

And that's when he decides this is probably a dream, so it's not a big deal when he wraps his arms around her waist and brings her just that closer. And it's certainly nothing of consequence when she moans into his mouth and a shiver runs down his spine. And it's just an illusion when he feels Ko squirming between them.

It's not important when they part, both breathless, both with flushed faces.

"It is Christmas," She whispers, starry-eyed and chest heaving. "So maybe-"

It's the third time that night he's interrupted her and he really doesn't give a rat's ass. Instead he kisses her once again and his hand fumbles for the door to his suite and he pulls her inside. Ko suddenly disappears from Hinata's hands as someone snatches him from above and Gaara just whispers "Temari." in her ear which explains everything.

Hours later when she's leaning on his shoulder (just like in the picture, only they're wiped from a _different_ sort of training now), he smiles to himself (because she thinks its pretty) and thanks Kami for Christmas miracles.

And for Temari too, but he certainly won't be the one to inflate her ego.

* * *

I HATE THIS. Dx

Happy Holidays!

Leave a review as a present!

~dreameratheart


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